While waiting for the DxOMark results for this camera, here are some results for this lens when mounted on a couple of other micro 4/3 cameras — in particular, the Panasonic GH2, whose results in principle should be quite close to those of the OM-D E-M5.

People who love zooming in when shooting video will appreciate being able to vary the zoom speed … and how very quiet the motorization is. (The motorization can be deactivated and thus videographers and photographers can have a traditional zoom ring at their disposal, as they prefer).

As for image quality, the DxOMark results will give a good idea of what people can expect from this new lens. Right off the bat, we can say that this simply isn’t a bright lens at all — certainly the 12-50mm’s biggest weak point, especially for a lens being sold at the non-negligeable price of $499. Combined with a micro 4/3 sensor — smaller than those for APS-C and full-frame cameras — and you will likely have some difficulty in obtaining high-quality photos in low-light with this lens.

Test results

Having said all this, let’s look at the standalone lab results for the Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3.

The Olympus and Panasonic DxOMark overall scores are identical, with very close individual metrics scores. But the Nikon 1 zoom is three points behind with a DxOMark score of 7 points, mostly due to two criteria: better resolution for both the Olympus and Panasonic lenses, but also a superior low-light sensor score for the Olympus PEN EPL2 camera. (Take a look at the sensor comparison: Olympus PEN EPL2 vs Nikon 1 V1.)

In addition to tropicalization and a motorized zoom ring for video, this latest Olympus lens shows good control of distortion and vignetting, making it a good choice for adventurous photographers. For other photographers… well, the very nice Panasonic kit lens gives pause: for $100 less, you get slightly better optical performance (especially in terms of resolution) and significantly better compactness. This said, if you prefer using classic focusing rings, you’ll want the Olympus lens, since the Panasonic doesn’t have them.